The Gran Verat must ask that you be patient with the imperfect members of the Veratocracy. That he was required to step in and make the command to High Lord Alniyh himself is an embarrassment to the station the High Lord occupies. Please know that the High Lord is returning to the Thnufir, but he has been specifically commanded to bring his Bound he calls Than. I cannot say if he will travel at the greatest speed possible for the leviathan, but if he does, he will arrive within a day of this windword’s reception. In any case, Than will struggle to pass through the Thnufir and is sure to be a miserable houseguest. I suggest you prepare plenty of the most nutrient dense greenery as you can manage, and if you have anything in the waters, remove it.


    -A recorded windword from Salmar of the Five to High Colonel Mualtir di’Thnufir of Fort di’Thnufir


    I stretched out, my spine cracking all the way down to the tip of my tail. As the vibrations from my magic made the sand flow freely around me, I was ready to speak with the [System] or Nievtala, whichever spoke to me.


    “How does Voice of Nievtala differ from Disciple?”


    [The Administrator answers. You’ve become able to easily hear my voice while I trust you not to lie about what it is I say. Thus, you can function as my voice down on the planet. When you speak, calling on my name, you will be heeded as one who represents me.]


    “It doesn’t seem to be much of a change.” I answered, almost unhappy with the result.


    [It won’t seem to be much of a difference to you, but to those whose paths are heavily concerned with divinity and interaction with superlative beings, the difference will be tangible. If you were, for example, to speak with that Bloodpriestess now, she would almost certainly declare you to be a fahvalo in the form of a divine messenger. Your people wouldn’t need to be proven as worthy of living due to following you as their sole leader. On the other hand, the Godless Hordes will sense the presence of divine approval in you and be less likely to establish more than a trading relationship with you.]


    “Wouldn’t they have sensed that in me before that?”


    [Probably so, little fang! They have a particularly developed sense for the gods and their touch, so I wouldn’t have expected less than a lukewarm reception anyways. I merely wished to illustrate that there will be aspects to the Title that will impact you negatively as well as positively.]


    “An enemy to hone ourselves on, I suppose. Then, other than completing the [Quest] that gave me additional stats, the [Title] is largely abstract in nature. To go with that, what’s the purpose of the [Voice of the Divine] [Skill]?”


    [This will be of special benefit to you. I’ll let you ask the System about it instead, though. Better to understand it from the source itself.]


    “Same with the new [Title]?”


    Stolen story; please report.


    A mild sense of approval was the sole answer to me from Nievtala. I sighed and asked the [System] instead. The answers quickly came.


    [Skill: Voice of the Divine; A Skill granted to one who has received the approval of a god to be their voice on the mortal plane. As such, your words are granted additional power. When you speak with the authority of a Divine Being that has bestowed approval to speak on their behalf, your words will carry divine authority and will be instinctively understood to originate from the Divine. In addition, even when speaking without a Divine Being’s approval or assignment, your voice will carry more easily into the hearts of listeners, and your arguments will be delivered with supernatural strength. Every Skill and ability that you possess related to the usage of your voice will be strengthened. All your Skills that utilize your voice will gain an additional 50% strength. The potency of all other Skills utilizing the magic from your sonilphon will be heightened by 25%. This Skill cannot evolve, but it can be enhanced.]


    [Title: Keel Progenitor; A Title granted to the one who is the first in at least 300 years to evolve to become a Keel. This Title and others like it come from accomplishing the monumental task of progressing beyond the artificial constraints of an individual’s natal limitations. This Title grants an aura that incites obedience, respect, and worship in individuals whose evolutionary path culminates at Keel. Additionally, this Title grants an aura which, if constantly exposed to, individuals whose evolutionary path culminates at Keel will find themselves much more easily capable of evolving to that level. This Title can evolve.]


    I took a deep breath, trying to internalize exactly how impactful these two additions would be. First, I focused on [Voice of the Divine]. Speaking with Nievtala’s authority would be interesting, but I didn’t much care, if I was wholly honest. I was the ultimate authority among my people, and though that probably originated from the goddess, at this point, I’d fully solidified myself as our true leader. My words were law, and my elites worked to solidify that impression. More impressively, the [Skill] served to enhance my other [Skills].


    [Murderous Melody], [Disastrous Discourse], [Innervating Address], and [Nurturing Enunciation] were immediately empowered by this new [Skill]. I couldn’t help but sigh, seeing [Innervating Address] still needing me to change the morale of a group in combat with it. Surely it would come, but I was frustrated by its lack of evolution after all this time. Even so, with the strengthening by [Voice of the Divine], all these [Skills] would reach new heights. The thought of [Murderous Melody] enhanced by both [Voice of the Divine] and the additional stats from [Spear of the Many] was enticing.


    Then, there was the [Title], [Keel Progenitor]. Though [Spear of the Many] could make me into an insurmountable powerhouse while I activated the [Skill], every new Keel that followed me could possibly stand before an indlovu hunter either alone, or with just one more Keel to support them. That, compared to the ten or so nonmagical khatif it took to do so and still sustain casualties was impactful enough. Beyond that, though, the Title offered nearly guaranteed obedience from keelish and khatif, which seemed impactful enough for the [Title]. Then, there was the final, most surprising addition to the [Title]’s description: [This Title can evolve.]


    “How can [Keel Progenitor] evolve? What will it become?”


    [The Administrative Body has seen fit to withhold this information from you at this time.]


    I couldn’t help but sigh at the return of this old companion. Even so, I felt the power of this new [Title] in conjunction with everything else I’d acquired over this journey to my new home. And, I smiled. I stood, the sand coursing all over my body, and I stretched. It was time to work with my people, and finally turn these ruins into a home.